Who owns the media?

The communications media influences the daily life of millions of citizens. It shapes national and international public opinion. It impacts the state’s political agenda and presents a reality of the past and present from a particular point of view.

In the last 20 years, strengthened by the arrival of the Internet and big technology companies, the media has achieved a reach never before seen. At the same time, gigantic multimedia groups have formed and exercise important sway over other sectors of the economy.

Since their appearance, these have become a key pillar of the democratic system, of the rule of law, and of the diffusion of the rights of the citizen in society. The latter includes freedom of information and expression, and guarantees of free and plural public opinion.

Plurality of information and the opinions available to the public is one of the requirements for freedom of expression. For this reason, monopoly control of media—and the use of single information sources to present a fragmented and partial vision of reality—represents an obstacle to the development of individual thinking. It is fair to say that a society is not free unless it is well informed. It is therefore important that society be aware of who the real owners of the media area, who finances them, how many media they own, what investments they have in other businesses, and whether they have political interests.

This information will enable the state, the citizenry, and the journalists themselves to understand the interests that influence the information we read in newspapers, hear on radio, see on television, and share on social networks. The objective of this platform—prepared by Reporters Without Borders and FECOLPER—is to examine in detail the world of the owners of news in Colombia and above all, to report about who reports to us.